Building Age-Friendly Health Systems

2/28/2019 - American Society on Aging

When Susan Shelton’s 99-year old father, Chet, was a patient at the Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC), he received care that was tailored specifically to his needs. This unique experience is all due to AAMC’s Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative. The initiative aims to significantly improve care and quality of life for older adults through personalized, patient-centered treatment.

In 2017, the Anne Arundel Medical Center received a $250,000 grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation to co-design and test the Age-Friendly Health Systems prototype. More than 45 percent of all patients admitted to the AAMC are at least 65 years old. The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative is based on the concept of person-centered care, which places an emphasis on designing care based on a person’s own preferences and goals. Lil Banchero, Senior Nursing Director, oversees the initiative at AAMC. When asked about this innovative initiative she says, “Age-Friendly Health Systems will allow us to focus on what really matters to our patients and make sure those things happen reliably for every older adult and their caregivers.” The age-friendly model takes a team-based approach to increase both patient and provider satisfaction, reduce the length of stay and decrease hospital denials. The team includes a physician, care manager, and nurse, all of whom work together to discuss what matters most to the patient. “All patients and families deserve this partnership and kind care,” Lil says. The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative was launched in the Acute Care for Elders unit at AAMC. As a result of this initiative, Lil reports that the hospital has seen an increase in patient satisfaction for those receiving care in this unit. Patient satisfaction was 83 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2018 – up from 70 percent in the fiscal year 2017.

During Chet’s stay in the hospital, Susan noticed how accommodating the nursing staff were to her father’s needs. For example, her father doesn’t like to be cold. In response, nurses always made sure he had extra heated blankets. To Susan, the most striking example of the person-centered care her father received was during an episode of delirium. Nurses contacted Susan, who was able to talk to him on the phone, calm him down, and then stay the night with him at the hospital. Reflecting on that day, Susan stated, “The staff really understands how to work with older adults and their caregivers.” Witnessing first-hand how impactful a person-centered approach to care was on her father’s hospital stay inspired Susan to bring that model into the community.